Frenchie Moe – Hi Class
Lightning In A Bottle Records
9 songs – 42 minutes
Frenchie Moe was born and raised in France but moved to the USA at the age of 19 to follow her love of playing and singing the blues. She eventually settled in New Orleans in 2011 , forming her own band as well as writing and collaborating with legends such as Coco Ribicheaux and Walter Wolfman Washington. Hi Class is Moe’s fourth album and follows in the footsteps of 2023’s Soul Full Tonight and 2022’s Way Down In Hustleville, both previously reviewed in Blues Blast Magazine.
Recorded “live” (the only overdubs being some keyboards and horns) at C.O.G Secret Lab, Harahan, Louisiana, by Lewis D’Aubin, Hi Class mines the same rich seam of Moe’s previous releases. Moe sings and plays guitar and is supported by some magnificent musicians, including Luther Kent alumni Bruce Elsensohn on organ and piano and Ward Smith on saxophones. Also appearing are Scott Perro and Mikey B3 on organ and piano, Stephen Mewold and Andy Villafarra on bass and Keith Hawkins on drums. The only self-written song is the funky title track. Otherwise, the covers range from the extremely well-known (“The Hunter” or “I Want To Ta Ta You, Babe”) to some lesser-known gems such as Big Kat Kaylor’s “Scattered” or Michael O’Hara’s “Trailer Park Love”. Kudos to Moe and her musicians for ensuring that even a song as well-known as “The Hunter” is given a fresh lick of musical paint and a new lease of life. Moe’s duet with Tiffany Pollack on this track is one of the highlights of the album, likewise her guitar playing on “I Want To Ta Ta You, Babe” is sublime.
Moe’s band are genuinely impressive, whether laying down irresistible shuffles on the likes of “Trailer Park Love”, capturing the essence of New Orleans in the re-working of Allen Toussaint’s “Happiness” or nailing the funky groove of “Scattered”. Moe’s self-written title track is a funky little number that sits nicely with the other songs on the album. Moe herself is a fine guitarist, laying down a series of nice solos as well as some lovely funky rhythm parts (“Scattered” in particular).
The only slightly discordant note is in relation to Moe’s voice, which is forceful but to this reviewer comes across as shrill and also oddly affected. No doubt in a live setting this is less of an issue but it does stand out in recordings.
Overall however, Hi Class is an enjoyable release from Frenchie Moe and definitely worth checking out.
